A Dreadful Case of Macobi

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Groups spend most of the year practising religiously and getting costumes completed for the road. 

Along the way, some find love, and some find heartbreak – and Junkanoo breakups are notoriously bad.

I callin’ in sick. Man, ine gern to work cause people looking in my face could see I hurt. My clothes all mash up cause they ain’ even pressed. I ain’ bathe I ain’ shave cause I so damned stressed. It’s Macobi.

Feelings may surface for a special guy or girl over time, as members spend months together preparing for the parades.

And, though we all want that perfect Junkanoo love story that Julien Believe sings about, sometimes it’s just not meant to be. 

Singer QPid knows the feeling all too well, even paying tribute to Macobi in song.

Dennis Saunders, a builder with The Valley Boys, says he wants no part of it.

The term, derived from the Belizean Kriol Makoabi, means lovesickness. The Haitian Kreyòl word Makoubi meaning “deformed, in bad shape, or ugly,” sums up the Macobi experience. The feeling is all too familiar for many Junkanoos.